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History · Abiquiu

Abiquiu’s post office opened in 1852, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Georgia O'Keeffe Home and Studio, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1953 on.

1852first post office
2on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Abiquiu’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Abiquiu began

When was Abiquiu founded?

1852

The Abiquiu post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, La Canada (1852) and Joseph (1884), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 181174 years
Founding year: the first Abiquiu post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Abiquiu’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Abiquiu, and 2 old place names are still on the map.A National Historic Landmark2 places on the National Register, including Georgia O'Keeffe Home and Studio, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Abiquiu’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Abiquiu’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAbiquiu NM c. 1920: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Abiquiu’s post office has been open since 1852. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Abiquiu
1852–today
La Canada
1852–1857
Joseph
1884–1884
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
El CurucoLa Careda
1cemetery inside Abiquiu
Abiquiu Catholic

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the National Register

2 historic places in Abiquiu

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmark
1
Georgia O'Keeffe Home and Studio
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
Tomas Gonzales House
Georgia O'Keeffe Home and Studio, built 1949★
Buildings★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Spanish Colonial/Spanish-Pueblo Revival1
I-House1
★ Landmark
Georgia O'Keeffe Home and StudioSpanish Colonial/Spanish-Pueblo Revival · Built 1949
All 2 listings
Tomas Gonzales HouseBuilding · listed 1996

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Abiquiu came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Abiquiu.

Read it all →

Abiquiú was first settled in 1742 by 24 Tewa Pueblo families led by a Roman Catholic priest, Francisco Delgado. The Tewa returned to New Mexico after a lengthy residence among the Hopi people in what would become Arizona. Their settlement in Abiquiú was part of the strategy by New Mexican colonists to defend its frontiers against marauding indigenous peoples such as the Apache, Comanche, and Navajo. Abiquiú was on the northern border of the Spanish settlements of New Mexico. In 1747, in one of the numerous raids in the area, the Comanche took 23 women and children captive, forcing the temporary abandonment of Abiquiú. The captives probably were sold or traded in the flourishing slave trade between and among the Spanish and the surrounding indigenous nations.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Abiquiu, 1793 to 1998

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1793Born hereAntonio José Martínez is born here
  3. 19th century
  4. 1808Born hereJulian A. Chavez is born here
  5. 1815Born hereJosé Manuel Gallegos is born here
  6. 1843Born hereFrancisco Antonio Manzanares is born here
  7. 1852Post officeThe Abiquiu post office opens
  8. 1852Post officeThe La Canada post office opens
  9. 1857Post officeThe La Canada post office closes
  10. 1884Post officeThe Joseph post office opens
  11. 1884Post officeThe Joseph post office closes
  12. 1895BuiltTomas Gonzales House is built
  13. 20th century
  14. 1920In the archiveAbiquiu NM c. 1920
  15. 1944In the archiveMaurice Grosser and Georgia O'Keeffe on a motorcycle
  16. 1949BuiltGeorgia O'Keeffe Home and Studio is built
  17. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  18. 1998LandmarkGeorgia O'Keeffe Home and Studio named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Abiquiu, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s–1940s2 items
Abiquiu NM c. 1920c. 1920Abiquiu NM c. 1920Maurice Grosser and Georgia O'Keeffe on a motorcycle1944Maurice Grosser and Georgia O'Keeffe on a motorcycle
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
2-27-2014 Overlooking Abiquiú on 2-27-2014 - 00220142-27-2014 Overlooking Abiquiú on 2-27-2014 - 0022-27-2014 Overlooking Abiquiú on 2-27-2014 - 00120142-27-2014 Overlooking Abiquiú on 2-27-2014 - 001Abiquiú2013AbiquiúAbiquiú2013Abiquiú
On the map

Abiquiu on the map, 1953 to 1995

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Abiquiu. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Abiquiu on the 1953 USGS mapAbiquiu on the 1979 USGS mapAbiquiu on the 1995 USGS map1953Abiquiu sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Abiquiu.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Abiquiu NM c. 1920
Retake this viewAbiquiu NM c. 1920, c. 1920

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Abiquiu’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

4 famous people were born in Abiquiu

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Antonio José MartínezNew Mexican priest, educator, publisher, ranche… · b. 1793
José Manuel GallegosAmerican politician · b. 1815
Francisco Antonio ManzanaresAmerican politician · b. 1843
Julian A. ChavezAmerican politician · b. 1808

Questions about Abiquiu’s history

What year was Abiquiu founded?

The Abiquiu post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Abiquiu?

Two places: the Georgia O'Keeffe Home and Studio (listed 1998) and the Tomas Gonzales House (1996).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.